When support is the only thing you can do.

I am not sure if anyone outside of the state of Utah has heard about Ethan Stacy, but it is a story that is very hard for those of us who live so close to deal with. I was a foster mom in Oklahoma for over a year, so any time I hear about abuse it strikes a cord in me. I feel nothing but anger towards those who hurt Heavenly Father's little children. I know that he does not look easily on these people, but it is still sad to know what these children have gone through. Even if I personally do not know the children, it has always been very sad and hard for me when I hear of abuse going on. My heart literally aches. I guess this is what it feels like to "mourn with those that mourn."
Well, Ethan was a 4 year old who came to visit his mom for the summer from Virginia. He was only here for 2 weeks when his life ended. His mother and new step-father abused him and wound up killing him. The details that I know are to sad to list in my blog and most of the details we do not even know as it was so gruesome that the press has chosen to not release the details to the public. I am full of such sadness when I think about what he went through and how he was defenseless against them.
Today we joined at least 500 people to Walk for Justice for Ethan Stacy. We started out at the apartment complex in Layton where he was killed and walked 12 miles to the jail in Farmington where his mother and new step-father are being held. We wore white and blue ribbons, white shirts, had blue and white pinwheels and released white balloons at the end of the walk. It was so much farther than any of us ever imagined. Several companies donated water, granola bars, and other snacks for us to have a long the way. Reese, Katy and I all went on the walk. We felt like in a situation like this, there is not much that we can do to help. However, when we heard that this was being organized we felt like we had no choice but to show our support for the family and as a member of this community.
Twelve miles really played a toll on our body and may take a while for us to recover. The second picture was while we were having a bathroom break and I was waiting outside the library. I thought I might not be able to get back up after everyone else was ready to go.